NBA’s Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers dominate NBLxNBA clash

Author: Monojit Mandal

The Washington Wizards demonstrated their brilliance in the NBA pre-season, decimating the Cairns Taipans with an impressive 145-82 victory, while the Portland Trail Blazers triumphed, overcoming the New Zealand Breakers with a final score of 106-66.

Last year, Cairns made headlines by beating all the odds and shocking the basketball world by defeating the Phoenix Suns, marking the first time an NBL club had won against an NBA opponent. Any thoughts of a similar shock were quickly dashed in Washington, where the Wizards dominated in an early-morning preseason game (AEDT).

The game started with a bang, with the hosts taking a 13-0 lead, scoring 44 points in the first quarter and having an excellent field goal shooting percentage of 71%.

The Taipans struggled to find their rhythm after an NBL regular season clash in Brisbane, missing their first six attempts and never creating a significant challenge for the dominant Wizards. In particular, Cairns’ NBA draft prospect Bobi Klintman struggled on the court, hitting just one of his twelve field goal attempts.

However, the Taipans had some bright spots, including Taran Armstrong’s six points, eight assists and three steals, which caught the attention of more than 20 scouts. Power forward Akolda Gak, who had already participated in the NBA Summer League, also impressed with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Xavier Cooks, the reigning NBL MVP, had a quiet game for the Wizards, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds in just 12 minutes of action.

The NBA preseason, a series of exhibition games that precedes the regular season, is an important time for teams to examine their personnel, experiment with new line-ups and prepare for the difficulties of the coming season. It usually starts at the beginning of October and lasts about two weeks, with each NBA club playing four to six pre-season games. Notably, some pre-season games are played outside North America each year.

The 2023-24 NBA preseason began on October 5, 2023 and will end on October 14, 2023, with a total of 49 preseason games.